Leon Isn't A Knight Just Yet
by Fourteen Hundred Hours
Summary: Leon and Arthur are just starting their training to become knights. As typical 9 year olds in a castle they get up to all sorts of things they shouldn't...
1. Chapter 1

**A random story that takes place when Arthur and Leon are 9, and starting their training to be knights. I'm not sure if it's been done before, but anyway, here it is. Hope you enjoy.**

Leon wasn't normally nervous. He'd never had any reason to be. But standing in front of the entrance to an impossibly huge castle, he couldn't help but feel a sense of worry creeping in. This castle was going to be his home for the next few years, and maybe for the rest of his life. He'd always wanted to be a knight, and travel around the kingdom having adventures, but now the time had finally come for his training to start he wasn't so sure.

"Come on Leon, you can't stand there all day." Leon's father placed a hand firmly on his son's shoulder and steered him towards the castle doors.

"Father, I-" Leon started, not sure exactly what it was he wanted to say.

His father stopped walking and knelt down so he was at the same level as Leon.

"Look son, I know it seems scary, but this is what you want to do. You're going to be a knight."

Leon attempted a brave smile, which was enough to satisfy his father.

"I know that you're worried. But I also know that you will do brilliantly. And your mother and I will make sure to write to you every week."

"But-"

"There's no time for buts, Leon. We can't keep the king waiting now, can we?"

Leon mutely shook his head.

"Good lad. Let's go."

Leon followed his father into the castle, marvelling at everything he passed. Everything was so much grander than his own home. His father was a noble, and a close friend of the king, but even so he had never seen so much gold and finery in one place. They soon arrived at the hall, and were announced to the king.

"Cadoar. Good to see you again." The king strode over to Leon's father and embraced him. "It's been too long- I hope you are well."

"I am very well my lord, thank you."

"Good, good. And this must be Leon then?" Uther glanced behind Cadoar, where Leon was doing his best not to be noticed.

"Yes, it is." Cadoar nudged his son forward.

"My lord." Leon gave a small bow.

"How old are you?" Uther asked.

"Nine, my lord." Leon wondered whether he should bow again or not, but decided against it.

"Nine. That's the same age as my son, Arthur. I'm sure you two will get along fine."

Leon just nodded, sure that he could never make friends in this grand place, let alone with a prince.

"Well, good to see you again. I trust you know the way to find Sir Mabon- he deals with the pages and squires."

"I do. Thank you, my lord." Cadoar nodded, and turned to leave.

"And come by once you've dropped Leon off- we have much catching up to do."

"I will, my lord." Cadoar replied with a smile on his face. He ushered Leon out of the hall.

"Father, where are we going?" Leon asked, as he passed a staircase they'd already passed several times. If he didn't have absolute faith in his father he'd swear they were lost.

"To find Sir Mabon… wherever he is." Leon's father looked about with a frown, and muttered to himself. "I could have sworn the armoury was around here somewhere." Just as he was about to lead his son off in a random direction, a small girl came running towards them.

"Excuse me. Are you here to see Sir Mabon?" She asked, trying to get Cadoar's attention. He looked round, searching for the source of the question. He looked down to find an expectant face looking up at him.

"Yes, I am. Could you tell me where he is?"

The girl nodded. "He sent me to find you. He thought you might have been lost."

Cadoar straightened up. "Not lost! We were just... taking a look at the staircase." Leon immediately looked at the staircase, certain that if his father had mentioned it it must have some importance. The girl was evidently trying not to smile.

"He's this way. Down that corridor." She pointed back the way they had just come.

"Ah. Thank you." Leon's father strode off down the corridor, leaving Leon and the girl to hurry after him. They caught up with him to find that he was starting a conversation with a stern faced man sitting behind a desk. He looked up when they arrived.

"Guinevere. That will be all." He dismissed the girl harshly. Guinevere nodded and gave a short curtsy. She gave one last look at Leon before she scarpered off down a narrow corridor.

The man stood up and regarded Leon haughtily. "I am Sir Mabon. While you are here you will report to me and me alone. I will be responsible for your training as a page, and when the time comes I shall assign you as a squire to a knight. I will be in charge of when you have free time, and also when you will be punished. Is that understood?"

Leon nodded, then added a "Yes sir" on the end.

"Good. Say your goodbyes to your father now, then come with me." Mabon stood ominously over Leon as he said goodbye to his father. When he was done Mabon swept out of the room. Leon looked back as he left the room to see his father gave him an encouraging smile, then ran off to catch up with Sir Mabon, who was already far ahead.

. . . . .

Leon sat outside in a small courtyard, feeling sorry for himself. As soon as his father had left he had been given a brisk tour of his new home, being shown the room he would share with the other pages, the room where he would eat, and the rooms where he would study and train. The studying had begun at once, and Leon had soon discovered that being a knight meant a lot more than just fighting.

He couldn't do maths, he couldn't recall historical facts, and he couldn't play an instrument. He was good at picking up new languages, but, as the other boys in his classes pointed out, languages were for girls. The others had run off after classes to play, but they had left Leon behind. Unsure of where to go, or what to do, Leon just sat outside.

"What are you doing?" A voice broke through Leon's thoughts. He turned to see a blonde boy standing behind him, a curious look on his face.

"Nothing." Leon stood up. He didn't know who this boy was, but he was probably here to tease him some more.

"Why aren't you with the others?" The boy had a decisively arrogant tone.

Leon shrugged. "They left me." He sat down again, hoping the boy would go away. He didn't. Instead he went and sat down next to Leon.

"They left me too. They don't like me very much." Remarkably he sounded very cheerful about his unpopularity. "Do you want to see something interesting?" The boy now sounded hopeful. "Only I didn't want to show any of the others, but I might show you."

Leon liked the sound of this. Maybe, just maybe, he might get a friend here.

"Alright. What is it?"

"Wait and see." The boy smiled mischievously and stood up, offering Leon his hand. "What's your name?"

"Leon." Leon took the hand and shook it. The boy's smile grew bigger.

"I'm Arthur. Arthur Pendragon. My father's the king." Seeing the expression on Leon's face, Arthur's smile dropped slightly.

"If you don't want to come any more, that's fine. None of the other's want to be friends with me because of my dad."

Leon shook his head, and jumped up. "I don't care."

Arthur's smile came back. "Really? Then let's go!"

**Please review if you have the time!**


	2. Chapter 2

"Take your shoes off- you're making too much of a noise."

Arthur looked disapprovingly at Leon's feet. Despite wearing shoes himself Arthur managed to creep around without making a sound. Wordlessly Leon sat down and took his shoes off, while Arthur snuck off and poked his head round a corner, checking to see if the coast was clear.

He turned back to Leon and sent him a series of complicated hand signals, which were returned with a blank stare and a shrug. Arthur repeated the gestures, but Leon gave up and hissed a 'what' at him.

"The coast is clear, watch your back, and don't make a sound!"

Leon mouthed an apology and hurried after Arthur, who was staring at a simple looking wooden door. Arthur scurried off and pushed open the door. It opened with a creek, and both boys froze in their tracks. Luckily no-one seemed to have heard, and so they proceeded into the room. Once inside Leon shut the door behind him, and Arthur let out a sigh of relief.

"That was close. I thought we were going to get caught when your shoes were making that noise, and when you started talking."

"But you were talking too! And you're talking now!" Leon protested. Arthur ignored the first accusation.

"We can talk now because we're safe." Arthur surveyed the room, searching for something.

"Where are we anyway?" Leon could see what seemed like a human skull hidden in a corner, and couldn't stop a shiver running through his body.

"It's Gaius's room. He's the court physician, but I think he's a sorcerer." Arthur practically whispered the last bit.

Leon glanced back to the skull, then cast his eyes around the room. All around were strange liquids in bottles, and different coloured powders in jars. On the table the remains of a meal could be seen, with a row of tiny bones lining the side of a plate. Never one to jump to conclusions though, Leon asked:

"How do you know he's a sorcerer?"

Arthur leapt into action. "He's got all these weird books which are written in a different language, and he spends all day making potions." He ran over to the table.

"And if he's got enemies or people he doesn't like he shrinks them down and then eats them so there's only bones left and no-one knows where they've gone! And he always wears a robe which is what sorcerers wear and he never smiles and he's really old."

"Why are we here though?" Leon wondered if they were going to ambush the sorcerer, or destroy the source of his power. That was the kind of thing knights did, wasn't it?

Arthur made his way over to a large cupboard and threw the doors open.

"Ah-ha. _That's _what we're here for." He pointed to the top shelf, where a tiny vial of golden liquid sat. Arthur reached for it, but his hand came up short. Leon went over to see if he could reach, but he didn't even get as high as Arthur had.

"I'll find a chair." Leon thought he could see a stool underneath a pile of books, and so made his way over. Arthur was too impatient to wait though, and proceeded to jump up and down seeing if he could reach the vial at the height of his bounce. He soon managed to grab it, and he raised it above his head triumphantly.

Leon ran over to get a closer look at their prize. Although small, the golden liquid inside seemed to sparkle and glow.

"What does it do?"

"I don't know, but it must be something good. Maybe if you drink it you can fly, or breathe fire!" Arthur gazed in wonder at it.

"Maybe you can turn invisible!" Leon suggested.

"Or walk through walls!"

"Or run faster than a horse!"

"Or be as strong as a dragon!" Arthur considered this last one, then pulled the stopper out of the vial and swallowed the contents. Leon was horrified- while it was fun thinking what powers you could gain if you drank the potion, it was equally likely to turn you into a frog, or shrink you down to the size of an ant.

He closed his eyes, wondering if it would cause Arthur to explode, although if it did he would probably get the blame for it. Hearing no explosion, he cautiously opened one eye- Arthur was pulling a face at the vial.

"It tastes like onions." He complained.

"Can you fly?" Leon asked. Arthur jumped up and down a few times trying to take off.

"No. Maybe I can breathe fire!" Arthur again tried to display some sign of powers, but to no avail.

"Walk through walls?" Leon was beginning to think that the potion had done nothing at all. Just before Arthur attempted to run full pelt through the door, they heard footsteps on the stairs outside.

"Quick- in here." Arthur whispered and pointed to a door at the far end of the room. They ran through it and carefully shut it behind them. They found themselves in an even smaller room cluttered with even more books, and with a small bed in the corner.

They held their breath as someone entered the other room, and began to move about. Leon guessed that this was the sorcerer, probably back to shrink more of his enemies down. After a few minutes the footsteps made their way back to the door, hopefully to leave again. Unfortunately, the potion Arthur had drunk chose that moment to take effect.

Arthur hiccupped. Loudly. Leon gazed at him in horror. Arthur too was in shock, and clasped his hands over his mouth as he hiccupped again. The footsteps froze, and began to come towards where they were hiding. Arthur had to stuff his fist in his mouth in an attempt to stop the hiccups. The handle of the door began to turn, but then stopped.

Someone else had just entered the room. "Gaius, you're needed at once. Morgana has taken a turn for the worse." Leon silently thanked the person who has said this.

"Of course. I will come at once." This voice was presumably the sorcerer's. Two sets of footsteps made their way out of the room while Arthur silently chocked. Once the door had closed he spat out his hand.

"That was close! You nearly gave us away with your breathing." He told Leon, then hiccupped violently.

"What about your hiccups? They could have got us killed!"

Both boys paused for a moment as they thought about how close they had come to being shrunk, killed and eaten by the sorcerer.

"We need to stop the hiccups in case someone realises where we've been!" Arthur sounded nervous.

"Maybe we should get out of here first." Leon suggested, and Arthur agreed fervently whilst hiccupping. They crept out of the room and down the stairs without being seen, and began to make their way back.

"How do you get rid of hiccups?" Arthur asked as they made their way across the courtyard. Leon shrugged- he'd had hiccups many times himself, and they'd just gone away of their own accord. He told Arthur this.

"That's no good- we need to get rid of them now!" Arthur wasn't impressed. They hurried down another corridor, Arthur hiccupping relentlessly. Leon suddenly caught sight of Guinevere from before, staggering under a heavy pile of washing. Thinking she might know how to get rid of magical hiccups, Leon ran after her.

"Guinevere!" He managed to catch up with her, and she turned round, surprised.

"Oh…" She caught sight of Arthur heading down after Leon. She tried to curtsy but was prevented by the huge pile of clothes.

"Leon- what are you doing?" Arthur looked suspiciously at Guinevere.

"I was going to ask if she knew how to get rid of them" Leon guessed that Arthur didn't have a very high opinion of servants.

"There's no point in asking her- she's just a servant." Arthur would have sounded a lot more imperious had he not punctuated every few words with hiccups.

Guinevere spoke up, blushing furiously. "If it's the hiccups you need to get rid of, I know how to do that." She said in a small voice.

"See. She does know." Leon was triumphant.

"Shut up Leon." Arthur said darkly. He then turned to Guinevere.

"Fine then, servant girl. How do you get rid of hiccups?"

**Thank you to everyone who has decided to read this chapter too! I know Leon seems a bit disrespectful to Arthur at the minute, but that's going to be part of the story. I'm also going to bring Morgana in sometime in the next chapter or so.**

**Please review if you have the time!**


	3. Chapter 3

**First off- sooooooo sorry for the immense wait. I had school work and this engineering project that just wouldn't end! Thankfully it's ended now, so I've managed to get this chapter up.**

**Secondly, thanks for everyone who reviewed/ subscribed- it means a lot to me. It's like receiving a virtual slice of cake (Except you should never ever accept food from strangers. Ever.)**

**Finally, thank you (if you're still reading) for keeping on with this fic, even if it has been a while in the works. I give you all virtual slices of cake. (Yes, I am slightly hungry)**

"Are you certain this will cure hiccups?" Arthur demanded of Guinevere. She crouched down, tilted her head to one side and looked at him with a smile on her face. Arthur was currently upside-down, standing on his hands. He was propped up against the wall with Leon holding his legs to stabilise him, and his face was steadily turning redder.

"My father always makes me do this when I have hiccups." Guinevere gave a little giggle, and then tried to hide it when Arthur glared at her. She straightened up hastily. After another minute Arthur groaned.

"I feel sick."

"I don't want to be standing here." Leon interjected. As much as he felt it was his duty to support his friend he didn't want to be covered in sick.

"Don't you dare move." Arthur warned. "If you let go I'll-" He frowned, and paused for a moment. "They've gone! The hiccups have gone!"

"I told you it would work." Guinevere said.

"Can I put you down now?" Leon asked, still holding tightly onto Arthur.

"Of course you can put me down! Why would I want to stay like this?" Arthur snapped, as Leon slowly righted him. Arthur tried to brush his hair back into place.

"Thank you, Guinevere. I wouldn't have expected it from a serving girl, but you have been most useful." He addressed her haughtily, but she didn't seem to notice.

"Yes, thank you." Leon added.

"You're welcome. And call me Gwen, all my friends do." She smiled at Leon, who smiled back.

"I shan't- that would be an improper thing for a prince to do. I couldn't be friends with a serving girl. And neither can Leon- he's going to be a knight." Arthur said, not realising that Gwen hadn't been talking to him anyway. She stopped smiling and looked at her feet, remembering the social gap between them.

"I beg your pardon. I… I should go now." She picked up her discarded pile of washing and hurried off, still with her head bowed. The boys watched her go, and Leon wished she'd stayed.

"What a strange girl." Arthur remarked. "Although all girls are strange, Morgana especially."

"Who's Morgana?" Leon asked. Arthur pulled a face.

"My father adopted her when her father died. She's really stuck-up, and she thinks all boys are stupid. She's only jealous 'cause she'll never be king like me. She even thinks she can ride better than me."

As Leon was lead back to where he should have been he couldn't help but think Morgana sounded just like a girl version of Arthur. He kept this to himself though, although he made up his mind to ask Gwen about it next time he saw her. He hadn't thought she was strange, even if Arthur did.

. . . . .

"Leon!" A loud voice penetrated Leon's thoughts. He'd been day-dreaming, wistfully thinking of what it would be like when he was a real knight. He wouldn't have to bother with maths lessons, and he would have a horse and he would travel across the land and-

"Leon!" the voice came again. Leon looked up into Sir Orin's face, red with exasperation. "Oh, you are awake after all. Have you been paying attention at all this lesson?"

"Yes, Sir Orin." Leon replied, trying to sound like it was true. He did try to pay attention to the lesson, but Sir Orin's voice was a dreary monotone, and he'd never liked maths anyway.

"Well then, what is the answer to the question?"

"Question?" Leon couldn't remember any question being asked. Come to think of it, he couldn't remember anything that had been said this lesson. Orin sighed.

"Stay behind after class, Leon. Honestly, when I was your age I-" he was interrupted by a knock on the door. A boy not much older than Leon entered and bowed.

"Yes? What is it?" Orin asked irritably.

"Prince Arthur has requested the company of 'Leon' on his trip to Isen today."

Orin pinched his nose, as if by holding on to something he could hope to keep his temper in check.

"May I ask why the Prince has chosen this… this… _fool _to accompany him?"

"I do not know, sir, but they leave in half an hour."

"Very well." Orin turned back to the rest of his class. "The rest of you, back to work." He whirled round suddenly to see Leon still sitting in his seat, scarcely able to believe his good fortune. "What are you waiting for boy? The Prince has called you, you must answer!" Still Leon didn't move. "_Go!"_ Orin emphasised. Leon nodded, jumped out of his seat and scarpered out the door.

. . . . .

"Ah, Leon. Hurry up, boy, we can't keep the people of Isen waiting." Uther looked down at Leon from his horse. Dressed up in all his finery and mounted on a magnificent steed Leon couldn't help but feel intimidated by the king.

"Yes sire." Leon bowed his head. A stable hand tapped him on the shoulder and gestured to a horse. Thankfully it was smaller than Uther's, so Leon had no trouble mounting it. Arthur came trotting up to rest beside him.

"You'd better be a good rider. I am, and I won't wait for you if you're slow." He said haughtily. Leon thought back to all his father had taught him about horse-riding. He'd always thought he was alright at it, but what if he did fall off? What if they decided since he couldn't stay on a horse he wasn't fit to be a knight, and they'd send him home in shame? What if-

"Don't listen to him." A girl's voice came from just behind Leon. She nudged her horse until she was level with the boys. "He's just worried in case someone proves to be a better rider than he is."

"I'm a better rider than you, Morgana, at any rate." Arthur countered. Leon looked at the girl- so this was Morgana. She sat elegantly on her horse, but had the same haughty look to her that Arthur did. However, she also had a mischievous smile on her face, and laughed as Arthur's face turned red.

"I bet I can beat you through the woods." She smiled.

"You can't." Arthur said stubbornly. Leon was intrigued- was Morgana, a girl, actually challenging the prince?

"I'll race you" she teased, flicking her hair out of her face. As if overhearing the conversation, Uther shouted back to them.

"Arthur, you must be on your best behaviour- it would not be proper for the future king to be seen racing through the country. Morgana, the same goes for you." He appeared to have forgotten Leon. "I do not wish for a repeat of last time." The last words were made to sound like a threat, and both Arthur and Morgana looked at the ground. Just as the party turned to go, Leon saw an old man rushing out from the castle. Uther caught sight of him and sighed.

"Yes? What is it Gaius?"

Leon could see Arthur turn pale. He wondered if Gaius had discovered the missing potion and had come to confront Arthur about it, which would explain why he looked so worried.

"Sire, I wish only to give Morgana a tonic for the journey- you know how long trips can affect her."

Uther's tone softened. "Of course. Thank you Gaius."

Gaius hurried over to pass Morgana a small glass phial. Inside was a liquid Leon recognised only too well.

"I'm sorry I didn't give it to you sooner- I had to make a new batch completely as I seemed to have misplaced the old one! I hope it works." Gaius passed her the bottle, and left without saying a word to Arthur. As he left Arthur loudly let out a breath.

"I thought he was coming to turn me into a frog!" he announced cheerily, not worried at all now that there was no danger of him getting found out. Leon noticed Morgana pulling a face as she stowed the bottle away.

"Are you alright?" he asked, worried in case Gaius had placed a spell on her instead of Arthur.

"I'm fine." She replied. "But I hate this stuff -it always gives me the hiccups."


End file.
